


The Bewildering Disposition of Danny Down the Wych Elm

by sodaghost (sodastars)



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Corpse AU, Elements of mystery, Gen, POV Outsider, i dont really want to call them original characters but, so theyre original characters, some detailed depictions of death, this is literally just buzzfeed unsolved but i refuse to write fics about real people, would this technically be considered a youtuber au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodastars/pseuds/sodaghost
Summary: An unsolved mysteries show looks into the famously puzzling case of Danny Fenton from Amity Park.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 242





	The Bewildering Disposition of Danny Down the Wych Elm

**Author's Note:**

> story based on this post:
> 
> https://nastyburger.tumblr.com/post/633202028677660672/day-27-cold-caserewind-who-put-danny-down-the

“This week on America’s Unsolved, we tackle the case of Danny Fenton from Amity Park. More famously known as “The Case of Danny Down the Wych Elm.”

Flynn crinkles the “case file” in his hands, realigning the script as he glances to his co-host reclined in her chair to the left of him. He can already tell Karmen had a question bubbling from her raised eyebrows, but as intros for the show goes, Flynn needs to finish his opening hook before she can say her piece.

“This case is famously puzzling as there are a lot of weird details that may have supernatural links” –He sees Karmen stifle a scoff in the corner of his eye, but continues– “and may even be the start of the town being marked as a hotspot.”

“For ghosts?” Karmen blurted.

“Yes, mostly. There is like a… general element of just supernatural stuff like werewolves and aliens in the tourism but it is mostly ghosts.”

She nods, twiddling a pencil between her fingers in as she absorbs the tidbit, before hitting Flynn with another question.

“Does this have anything to do with the –you mentioned a wych elm earlier– does this have anything to do with the ‘Bella in the Wych Elm’ story we covered in a previous video?”

“I figured you were gonna ask that,” Flynn said easily, “and as far as I know, they’re completely unrelated. I think the only thing that’s the same is the fact they were found in a tree-”

“And they…”

“-And they named the case similarly after the Bella one I assume.”

“Okay.”

The pencil in Karmen’s hand comes to a stop with its twirling as she goes silent again, an indicator for Flynn to continue the story. So, turning back to his papers, he begins to set the scene in his “dramatic reading voice” as they called it. The kind that would have suspenseful music and graphics edited under it in post.

_“In 2004 on the evening of October 27th, a park ranger named Anna Woodsman is hiking her rounds throughout the Amity-Erie Woods. It was largely uneventful, a day like any other during her job, she noted, until she came across a wych elm with a large natural hole grown into it. It was a tree that she had passed many times during her rounds in the past, but what made her stop this time was the fact that the hole was now stuffed to the brim with leaves and twigs. Something that hadn’t been there before._

_“Woodsman said, quote– ‘It was clear it wasn’t a bird or animal that made a nest there with the leaves. I thought that maybe some kids stuffed them in there to fill up the hole for fun, but then I thought maybe someone hid something in there.’ –end quote._

_“It was that idea, that something could possibly be hidden in the tree, that motivated Woodsman to start pulling out the twigs and decomposing vegetation from the opening. Eventually, she discovered her theory of something being hidden within the tree was in fact true, but she never would’ve guessed that the thing that would be found was_ **_a human body._ ** _”_

“Wooooaaaaaah,” Karmen interjected, “That would be… horrifying.”

“I’m sure it was,” Flynn said, momentarily dropping the voice, “because his face- the face of the body was like _right there_.”

“ _‘Right there?!’_ Like it was-”

“It was positioned in a way where the head would be facing out, perfectly framed by the hole. So when she pulled away all the stuff, the very first thing she would see was his face-”

“Oh my god.”

“-like all purple and sunken in… as it starts to decompose.”

“Flynn, that's an actual horror movie.”

_“Upon seeing the face, Woodsman recoiled back in horror and immediately radioed the ranger station in a frantic state. Soon after, the police were called and show up to the scene. Caution tape and safety parameters were set up around the tree as they interview Woodsman. Another officer started to clear out the rest of the leaves and twigs from the opening so that the medical team can start the process of identifying the body. What they found was extremely bewildering._

_“The body was of a boy, about fourteen years old-”_

“WAIT, he was fourteen?!”

“Yes,” Flynn dejectedly said, “it’s very sad.”

“You didn’t tell me he was- first of all, you didn’t tell me it was a child.”

“Well, I was getting to it.”

Karmen huffed, dropping the pencil on their prop desk to lean forward with her head in her hands for a moment before sitting back up.

“Okay whatever, this is a sad one then. Let’s get into it.”

_“The body was of a boy, about fourteen years old. 5’4, short black hair that was starting to fall out from decomposition, blue eyes, and strangely dressed in a black and white latex level B hazmat suit. His body also had an odd smell, as described by the officers at the scene._

_“Quote– ‘It didn’t smell like a normal rotting body, there was a weird citrusy tone coming off of it. Like a combination of lemons and crayons. It’s very hard to describe.’ –end quote._

_“The position of the body and insides of the tree is also rather bizarre. The little nook within the tree already seemed a little small to put a fourteen year old child in, even for one a little on the shorter and thinner side like the boy. But somehow, not only was it there, it was in a humanly relaxed placement as opposed to being bent at an awkward angle to make him fit or showing any signs of a struggle to put the body in there. It was as though it had been laid there without any regards to the actual physical space of the hole._

_“In fact, within the opening, the body’s hands and legs looked as though it was_ **_merged into the tree._ ** _The hands and legs were stuck inside the wood itself, the pulp forming around the shape like a mold. Officers struggled to wrestle the boy out for several minutes, being only able to do so from an inch thick of rot from the wood as wiggle room to pull the limbs free. The rotting of the wood was also abnormal, as both officers and the park rangers can confirm. The rotting was described as something more akin to how a fruit would rot– like it was turning into sludge –than actual wood, where it would splinter and be eaten away._

_“Once outside of the tree, the autopsy determined the boy’s entire left arm, starting from the palm and spread to most of the left side of his body was completely scorched, most likely due to electrocution rather than burning as the medical team states, but there seems to be no other physical damages aside from general handling getting the boy out of the tree. There was, however,_ **_a strange radioactive chemical permeated within the body._ ** _Upon discovery of the chemical, the entire investigation screeched to a halt, as everyone had to step back and make sure they weren’t contaminated. It is assumed that the odd smell and unusual rotting described earlier, is because of this weird chemical.”_

“....Okay,” Karmen finally says.

“You taking it all in?”

“It’s a lot,” she confirms. She had taken a different prop from their desk now, a small gray rubber ball, with the face of an alien printed on it, and was rolling it around in her hands.

“It’s certainly one of the weirdest scenes for a found body we’ve had on this show.”

“I’m trying to wrap my head around it. So they found… a half barbequed-”

“H-holy shit!”

“-radioactive lab boy… fused into a wych elm.”

“A half barbecued, radioactive, lab boy fused into a wych elm,” Flynn repeats.

“Yes.”

“That’s certainly one way to put it.”

“And they…. but why is- how did… that’s so weird!”

“Exactly, it is weird!”

“Everything is so weird I don’t even know what weird thing I want to ask about first!”

“Well,” Flynn flaps the papers in his hands for emphasis, “You better strap in because it's about to get weirder.”

“That doesn’t even sound like a real word anymore.”

_“Weirdness aside, the police were able to later determine the identity of the body as_ **_Daniel Fenton_ ** _, who had been_ **_missing_ ** _in Amity Park, over forty miles away from the location of the body, for a whole_ **_two months_ ** _before his discovery. Let’s rewind._

_“On August 24th, 2004, Daniel, or Danny as he more commonly went by, was alone in his house for about 5 hours between 11 to 4pm at the time of his disappearance. His parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, were at a conference for their recent scientific work, and his older sister, Jasmine Fenton, was at a friend’s house. The timeline during these few hours is extremely detailed._

_“When Jasmine returned home at around 4pm, she saw no sign of her brother in the house but thought nothing of it at the time. Danny himself had told his family earlier that day, quote– ‘I might go and visit Sam and Tucker [close friends of Danny] later today to watch a movie, but we haven’t really decided yet.’ –end quote, so Jasmine had just assumed Danny had left to visit his friends._

_“Two and a half hours later, at about 6:30pm, Jack and Maddie return from their conference. They were a little upset that their son didn’t leave a note or send a text to let them know he decided to go out, but assumed that he had just forgotten and felt nothing seemed too unusual for them to be concerned yet.”_

“It’s always depressing,” Karmen starts, “to hear stories like this– and to hear those details –and knowing how it ends.”

“Yeah, it makes you wonder if anything could’ve been done if they reacted to that stuff sooner, and I’m sure the family thought about it a lot too. But, I can assure you there was nothing they could’ve done.”

“Wait what?”

“We’ll get to that later.”

_“Another three hours pass, at 9:30pm, is when the family finally realizes something was off. Danny’s curfew is set at 10pm and is expected to text when he is on his way back, but there still had been no message of the sort. Jack tries to call his son on the phone, but finds that_ **_it had been left in Danny’s room._ **

_“More panicked now, Maddie then calls both Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley’s houses, hoping that Danny had just forgotten his phone and lost track of time, but both the children and the parents in either household state that he hadn’t come over at all.”_

“10? That’s so late for a curfew!”

“Yeah, I was thinking that too when I saw that but,” Flynn shrugs, “Looking into the data, Amity is apparently like a small city with a surprisingly low crime rate so…”

“Ah.”

“He also has an older sister, so I can only imagine that maybe they like set her curfew that late and-”

“Oooohhh okay, I get that, and the little brother is like ‘I wanna stay out that late too!’ and the parents were like sure.”

“Yeah, I guess they just didn’t think anything of it.”

“That’s a much more understandable situation” –Karmen gives the alien ball a little squeeze– “I did that with my older siblings all the time as a kid too.”

“I’m pretty sure the parents were tighter on that after this too, probably made the curfew a lot earlier.”

“I would imagine so.”

_“It was at this point the Fentons called the police to report their missing child. The home was searched and almost nothing out of the ordinary was found. There was some strange activity in one part of the house but, while documented, did not seem relevant to the missing child case at the time._ **_More on that later_ ** _._

_“Front door security footage gives exact times for people entering and leaving the building: showing Jack and Maddie leaving for their conference at 10:46am, Jasmine leaving to visit her friend at 11:03am, Jasmine coming back at 3:52pm, and the parents returning at 6:28pm. All of this lines up with their earlier testimonies and alibis given to detectives. No one else, including Danny or any possible suspects that could’ve taken him, were seen in the front door camera on that day. There was also no evidence of a break in or tampering on any of the doors or windows._

_“Since there was no sign of a struggle, police suggest that Danny could have left undetected through the back door that didn’t have a camera and be taken in the street. But, this theory is unlikely, since the back door was still locked and Danny’s keys were found alongside his phone in his room. Danny would also have no reason to leave the house this way at all.”_

“I would understand… that backdoor thing if he was like sneaking out to do teenager stuff.”

“....Oh like going to a party or something?”

“Yes, BUT! That’s obviously not it because of the thing he told his family earlier.”

“Oh right, the seeing movies with some friends thing.”

“Yeah,” Karmen says, “Even if he was lying about that or whatever, that still…. gives him a reason to leave through the front door.”

“Yeah, they would have no reason to think he’s- he’s getting crunk at a party he shouldn’t be at, haha!”

“HA! Like the parents are watching the security footage, they take one look at the way he leaves the house, and their” –Karmen laughs, struggling to tell the rest of her joke– “their Parental Mind’s Eye opens up and they’re like ‘WE GOT HIM. WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE’S GOING!’”

“HAHAHAHA!”

“WE KNOW HE’S GOING TO HAVE AGE INAPPROPRIATE DRINKS AT CHAD’S HOUSE.”

“To be fair, sometimes being a kid really does feel like that with your parents when you do something you’re not supposed to.”

“They ascend to an astral plane of existence to telepathically tell their son that he’s grounded for two months and they’re taking away his video games.”

“That would be a good joke if his body was found buried.”

There is a brief moment of confusion on Karmen’s end until recognition and horror stretches her face as she snaps to Flynn, “OH- OH NO I DIDN’T-”

“DID YOU FORGET WHAT WE WERE DOING FOR A MOMENT?!” –He laughed– “WHY DO YOU THINK WE’RE IN THIS STUDIO.”

“I GENUINELY FORGOT ABOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THIS CASE OH MY GOD. I GOT SO CAUGHT UP IN THIS BEING A SIMPLE MISSING PERSON SCENARIO THAT-”

“The whole being radioactive and dead in a wych elm slipped your mind?”

“IT DID BECAUSE IT FELT LIKE WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CASE THERE.”

_“The phone, keys, wallet, and other personal objects left in the house further suggest that Danny had no intentions of leaving at any capacity. Police even searched the phone and found text messages sent to his two friends a few hours before his disappearance confirming that plans to watch a movie that day had been cancelled._

_“At 1:23pm, according to timecodes in the texts, the written messages end with an offer from Sam Manson to play a co-op video game together, and sure enough, Danny’s gaming profile logs the last time he was online only an hour before the time Jasmine returned home. The conversation was switched to voice chat from that point on, and is presumably the last interaction anyone had with Danny while he was alive. Unfortunately, it is here where the details start to derail._

_“When interviewed, Manson was very cooperative and gave detailed answers about the final conversation such as how the two talked about strategies for the game, how they were starting high school next week, and general tidbits about their other friend Foley who couldn’t join the game at the time. She was more than willing to give any information she could to authorities, but was unfortunately largely restricted. A detective on the missing persons case said, quote– ‘If she could, that young lady might even try to join the force to find her friend, but her parents, on the other hand, were not as easy.’ –end quote._

_“Manson’s parents, Pamela and Jeremy Manson, were very concerned about their daughter potentially being accused or blamed for Danny’s disappearance. Even after the officers assured the parents that their daughter was not being accused, they didn’t want her to say certain things and wanted to end the interview as soon as possible. At a certain point, they insisted that Manson had no more relevant information and pulled her away. Despite Manson clearly having more to say, the authorities just let them go."_

“Why would….”

Flynn doesn’t look up from his notes while he waits for Karmen to finish her question, but when her silence stretches for too long, he finally turns to face her. At one point during the narration, she had swapped the alien ball with the pencil again and was tapping the eraser at her confused face.

“Is the ‘why’ on why they did that gonna come up later?” she finally asked.

“Perhaps.”

“Does it have anything to do with the ‘strange activity in one part of the house’ that you mentioned earlier but then said ‘more on that later?’ because I absolutely did not forget that.”

“Hmmm,” Flynn hums, taking enjoyment in teasing the rest of the story, “Maybe.”

His co-host glares at him, narrowing her eyes, but Flynn knew there was no actual heat to them. The pencil in her hand was loosely held between her two fingers, dangling in a way one would hold a cigarette, before she suddenly flicks it onto the table and raises her hands in the air. The tension in her face immediately melts away with ease, since it was all just an act anyway, and exclaims a contrastingly cheerful, “Okay! Let’s get to it then.”

Flynn chuckles.

_“In the following weeks, the search for Danny Fenton was extensive. Many missing posters and news stories spread, which shook the small town with a low crime rate to its core. Amity Park soon became a frenzy trying to find this boy, the stress even being enough to delay the start of school by a week when September crept in. Several search parties were sent out across the town filled with several members of the community. Hundreds of people were asked if they’ve seen anything, but there seems to be not a single witness to Danny’s whereabouts. Eventually, all leads went cold, and people were starting to lose hope that the missing Fenton would ever be found until that one faithful evening on October 27th. With that, let’s rewind one last time.”_

“Interesting how they searched high and low for this boy only to randomly find him on accident in a tree.”

“Well, it was really far away and they were mostly looking for someone still alive, so….”

“Oh….”

_“Once the body had been discovered, details started to fall into place. During the initial missing person investigation, the Fentons had found one of their inventions in the basement lab largely singed and data logs indicating a surge of power had occurred at 3:21pm. At the time, this occurrence didn’t seem relevant to Danny’s disappearance. Jack and Maddie simply attributed the damage to their invention sparking after destabilizing. Since the machine was unsuccessful in the first attempt to turn it on, the two scientists theorized that they could slowly equalize the settings by keeping energy feeding into it._

_“The chances of the invention surging was a likely possibility, but Jack and Maddie still felt safe leaving their kids alone in the house with it. The surges, even at its worst, were estimated to not even be that explosive, and the lab is located underground with highly reinforced walls and doors. Jack described it as, quote– ‘Even if a nuclear bomb went off in the lab, the explosion would be contained. As long as the doors were shut, the kids in the main house would be safe from any incidents in the lab.’ –end quote._

_“With the lab also being soundproof, Danny would have no indicator of this event occurring if he was still inside the house during the time. The only way he would know is if he went to check unprompted. Even if this was the case, a lab mishap didn’t seem like a good enough motive for Danny to leave the house so suddenly, so the occurrence was written off as a coincidence in the missing person case.”_

Karmen huffs, “I’m thinking back to some of those details at the beginning of the story now.”

“They had no reason to think their kid was already dead at this point in time, so they dismissed this thing that would’ve clearly killed their kid.”

“They had no reason to think their kid was already barbecued.”

“Jesus Christ I can’t believe you brought that back.”

Karmen starts poking the air with her pencil, miming the action of prodding a piece of meat on a grill, “They cooked that one side of him a little too long.”

_“However, with the state of the body found in that wych elm, the hazmat suit, the electrocution burn, and the strange chemical throughout easily links the cause of death to the laboratory invention. Instead of a random destabilization, it became clear that Danny_ **_himself_ ** _was the cause of the incident. The autopsy estimates the time of death to be a little over two months, so Danny already being dead at the time he was reported missing was definitive._

_“The laboratory invention, whose purpose is not public, was a large arching hole in the wall charged with electricity and chemicals. It was found that most of the scorching damage occurred within the hole, stretching from an on/off button on the left side as the origin point. With his entire left side completely burnt in a similar explosive pattern starting from the palm, this suggests that Danny had pressed this button and was severely electrocuted. It's assumed that he died instantly._

_“Since Danny was wearing his family hazmat suit tailored specifically for him, it is also assumed that he entered the large, concave machine willingly, but the question of ‘why’ was hotly debated during the investigation. After several days of numerous theories being tossed around about this question, Sam Manson finally reached a breaking point and revealed the secrets she was forced to keep during that first interview._

_“On November 1st, against her parents’ wishes, Manson stormed down to the precinct by herself to tell authorities about one last topic she had talked to Danny about on that day. During their game, Danny had talked to her about a lab invention his parents built that failed to work. He reportedly said that Jack and Maddie became depressed that the machine couldn’t turn on, which made him feel empathetic. For the past few days, he had wondered if there was anything he could do to help the mood they were in, so_ **_Manson made a passing remark_ ** _that perhaps Danny could see what was wrong with the machine himself._

_“Quote– ‘He was depressed because his folks were depressed. It wasn’t a serious suggestion for him to actually try and fix it, but I guess the idea never left his head after we went offline. He never told me he was actually going to do it. When I heard the details about the lab, I knew it had to be Danny’s doing and I got so worried he was hurt, but since there was no body and he was reported missing, I never would’ve guessed he ended up like this. Please stop these theories that a third party suspect coerced him to go into the machine now, it was me and always has been.’ –end quote.”_

“What kind of theories were people making up about that? Or is that like- is that gonna come later.”

Flynn’s hand goes to brush his bangs out of his face, “Since it was clear now that Danny died in the house and he obviously wasn’t found there, they were trying to think of some sort of person or narrative that had to be there to….”

“....Move him.”

“Right.”

“If I’m…. remembering this timeline correctly, I have a feeling that that’s the part that makes this case unsolved.”

“That is correct.”

The two sit in a moment of silence as Flynn readjusts his notes and allows Karmen to breathe while soaking up the information, but he knows these couple of minutes will be edited out in post to go straight to his voice over again. Karmen lets out a loud huff, so Flynn takes that as his cue to continue.

_“Just as Karmen said, let’s review the timeline in its entirety now that we have all the pieces before we delve into theories about the gap that continues to confound the world._

_“On August 24th, 2004, Jack and Maddie Fenton leave the Fenton household for their science conference at 10:46am and Jasmine Fenton soon follows after to visit her friend at 11:03am, leaving Danny alone in the house for the next few hours._

_“For Danny, search history on his computer gives timestamps of him being active online around 11:20am to 12:40pm. Afterwards, Danny begins to receive text messages from his friends, and begins chatting with them for the next thirty minutes. At 1:23pm is when Manson offers to play video games and they switch to voice chat. Foley, the third friend in that conversation, was unable to join. The two played games for about two hours until logging off. And finally, at 3:21pm, the automatic lab logs document a surge of electricity suddenly going off in the laboratory, marking the time of_ **_Danny’s death._ **

_“The gap between this and Jasmine returning home at 3:52pm was only_ **_thirty-one minutes._ ** _Later, at 6:28pm, Jack and Maddie also return home. Three hours later, the family begins to worry and call Danny’s phone at 9:35pm, Tucker Foley’s phone at 9:37, Sam Manson’s phone at 9:42, and finally the police at 9:50._

_“At this point, Danny’s body was already in the wych elm, but the town searched for him for the next two months. On October 27th, 2004, the search finally ends when a park ranger discovers the body by chance in the Amity-Erie Woods, about forty-five miles from the Fenton house. With that, this concludes the official timeline._

_“The time between Danny’s death and the police arriving to file the missing person report are the most scrutinized, so let’s get into the theories on how Danny’s body was moved from the laboratory basement to the wych elm.”_

“What a wild story, I can’t wait to hear all of the equally wild theories about those thirty-one minutes to explain how the body ended up fused into a tree forty-five miles away.”

“I can guarantee that there’s some on here you’re not gonna like.”

“Well,” Karmen says, flipping her pencil, “you did say up front that there were some potentially ‘supernatural elements’ in this one so I’m already prepared to tell you how wrong you are.”

“There is one supernatural one on here that I actually think is kinda likely.”

“Well that’s because you’re a silly nut brain, Flynn. I’ll decide how dumb the theory is for myself when you get to it.”

“Well alright,” Flynn scoffs, “let’s get into the theories then shall we.”

––––––––

_“_ **_The first theory_ ** _is the most simple: that someone came into the house and took the body before Jasmine came home._

_“This would be the most obvious explanation for how the body was moved, but there is a good bit of evidence to say this isn’t the case such as the lack of signs for a break in and the window of time being too small. Nonetheless, many people speculate that it’s possible that Danny could’ve let someone into the house, have them oversee the accident, and then take steps to hide the body. This may seem strange, especially since the front door security footage would mean this person came in through the back, but if it were true then its only possible if it was someone very close for him to trust._

_“All the doors still being locked with Danny’s keys still in the house is rather damning to this theory, but if this was a close friend or family member he would willingly let in, it's not a stretch to say that the suspect would have a key of their own._

_“Unfortunately, no such persons that Danny would trust enough to do this seem to exist. The only people that could even remotely fit this description would be Danny’s two best friends, Foley and Manson, both accounted for in other parts of the city during the window the body would have to be moved._

_“Although, fans of this theory also suggest that Danny could have had a secret relationship with someone for this to still work, but there’s not a single bit of evidence to support this. Even if this were somehow true, Danny is only fourteen, so unless this secret person was someone old enough to drive and owns a car, the act of transporting Danny’s body forty-five miles into a forest on foot would be impossible. Especially without being seen.”_

“I hate this one because it hinges on the idea that a fourteen year old boy is allegedly friends with an older person that requires them to be a secret and sneak around being caught on camera.”

“It’s definitely very creepy and also highly unlikely. There were no messages or form of contact for a relationship like this and there’s no reason for them to show up at the exact time Danny was gonna go into the lab and….”

“Fry himself,” Karmen bluntly states.

“Essentially.”

“The time he went in was also pretty immediately after the gaming session with Manson right?”

“That is true.”

“I don’t think he was waiting around opening doors for anyone then.”

––––––––

_“_ **_The second theory_ ** _is that_ **_Jasmine Fenton_ ** _was the one that moved the body._

_“It’s assumed that the body was already out of the house by the time Jasmine returned home, which only gives the suspect thirty-one minutes, but if it was Jasmine herself, that extends the timeframe to three and a half hours. A family member being the culprit eliminates the need for a break in or being allowed in, and Jasmine was sixteen years old at the time with a car so she could easily transport the body across the long distance.”_

“But….” Karmen jerks, “But why?”

“Yeah I don’t think this one is very likely based on that question alone.”

“I don’t know about you, but if I came home to find my brother dead in a freak lab accident, my first instinct would not be to find the nearest wych elm to stuff him in.”

_“Theory suggests that Jasmine had returned home, went into the lab to find her brother, and tried to hide the body by hiding him in the car. However, this idea has been criticized for the too small time window to drive to and from Amity-Erie Woods and its lack of real motive. Some try to propose that Jasmine did it to protect her parents from legal charges of accidental homicide as a possible motive, but this is also deemed unlikely._

_“Even long before this case, Jasmine reportedly always detested her parents’ sciences, even going as far as publicly denouncing them as foolish. For the most part, she kept her distance from their work as much as she could, both socially and physically, so this would also make it unlikely for her to step foot in the lab at all to discover the body. Some argue that if the lab door was left open, this could prompt her to check, but this explanation will also serve ineffective since the doors always automatically close._

_“From the very beginning, Jasmine often found Jack and Maddie’s inventions ridiculous and especially dangerous for her younger brother. In the end, it turns out she was right to worry. After the discovery of the body, she told the press, quote– ‘I am more than mad, I am beyond angry. I had always held embarrassment and disappointment in my parents’ work but now it's been replaced with only rage. When they were moping around like children over their new toy not working, I should’ve known Danny would be the adult and try to help. My brother was always too fucking kind for his own good, and now he’s been killed by it. I am so angry right now.’ –end quote.”_

“I would understand this theory being a thing so much more if she was –like– there for the accident, panicked over potentially killing her brother, and then sorta went off the rails to try and hide it. But that’s not the case at all! And I can’t-”

“I feel like people who believe this just completely overlook her character,” Flynn says.

“Exactly! Like” –Karmen flails her hands around, waving the pencil with a tight grip as though it was a wand– “I know we shouldn’t dismiss possibilities because they’re out of character, that’s how so many of these murderers get away but this one just makes no sense.”

“If she disliked her parents that much, especially after her brother being dead, then there’s no fucking way she would cover for them.”

“She hated them for years! Why would you even coin this as a theory, she would’ve eviscerated her parents’ reputation the first chance she got!”

“I don’t know dude,” Flynn chuckles, “Maybe they’re just covering all their bases.”

“Well its stupid because this one isn’t even on the field!”

––––––––

_“_ **_The third theory_ ** _suggests that_ **_Jack and Maddie Fenton_ ** _moved the body._

_“Possible motives include avoiding legal charges for accidental homicide and to save some reputation for the invention they still want to complete and reveal. If word got out that their own son had died while completing the project, that wouldn’t make for very good business._

_“As adults, they would have a car and be able to drive it, they would also have a reason to go into the lab to discover the body. Some believe that some sort of phasing technology created by the inventors could also explain the strange fusing of the body within the tree and, as the creators, they would know how to properly operate the device. However, no such technology was found in the lab or documented to have existed._

_“To further this, the same time window that exonerates Jasmine would also clear Jack and Maddie, as there was only three hours between when they came home and when they called the police. The drive to the woods and back alone would take up to four hours, not counting the time needed to actually place the body into the wych elm._

_“Another damning detail to this theory is the fact that their daughter would be a witness, and she deems this hypothesis impossible. As stated before, Jasmine would not be the type of person to lie for her parents and would expose them without hesitation. For the scientists to get away with this, they would have to dodge their daughter, leave the house without her noticing, and come back in time to start making phone calls._

_“Despite her disdain, Jasmine already holds firm on the fact that her parents were with her in the house the entire time. Given previous statements, the fact that she would defend her parents on the basis of the truth is rather credible.”_

“God damn it, I was hoping that they did it.”

“Why?”

“Because they seemed like the most likely suspect, I can’t think of anyone else that could have done it, and after the whole Jasmine thing I’m one-hundred percent on her side!”

“You don’t think that these people would be extremely upset that their son died and weighed down by the burden that it was one of their own inventions that did it.”

“I guess but I don’t know, I really feel for the sister’s perspective a lot more than that. She felt more real to me.”

“I suppose that’s understandable. I will note though that the parents did have to go to therapy and stuff because of how deeply affected them and there’s no faking months of psych reports.”

“Well then maybe you should have told me that first, Flynn.”

“Well, –ha ha ha– I’m sorry! I didn’t think you would feel that strongly that they did it.”

“Well, you should’ve. Because even with the glaring evidence to say they didn’t, it still feels like the most likely theory out of everything so far.”

“.....”

“I’m still on Team Jasmine though.”

––––––––

_“_ **_The fourth theory_ ** _is that Danny’s body was moved by a_ **_ghost_ ** _.”_

“Are we at that point in the theories now?” –Karmen groans– “Please don’t tell me this is the one you believe.”

“This is the one I feel is most likely.”

“Flynn…….”

“Hear me out!” Flynn interjects, “Just hear me out!”

“I refuse to believe that the most likely explanation for the body being in that tree is that a ghost- What? Spirited him away?”

“It has the most compelling elements with no contradictions.”

“Oh you know, aside from the big one being that: Ghosts! Don’t! Exist!”

“Let’s get on with the theory, shall we.”

_“The idea of some sort of ecto-entity taking Danny is a particularly favorite theory among many. A ghost using intangibility can explain how it got in and the strange phased state of the body, flying a long distance to the site of drop off would not be a problem, and all of this can be done without_ **_being seen_ ** _._

_“When the body was uncovered on October 27th, Amity saw a drastic increase in paranormal activity. Reports of cold chills, whispers, and moving objects suddenly exploded all at once. Sightings of ghosts also began to appear. Some of the most frequent sightings being a woman with blue hair, a boy with white hair and a hazmat suit similar to the one Danny died in, a large warehouse worker, and more. Some people even report seeing an apparition of Danny Fenton himself, appearing more solid and human than the other ghosts, before_ ** _vanishing._** _Observers have also noted that some time after these events started occurring, Foley and Manson can often be seen talking to each other as though there’s still a third person among them.”_

“You think that might just be the grief though?”

“I will admit it could just be that, but people usually say it's like in length conversations as though they’re responding to someone.”

“I’m… I’m not gonna argue in depth on kids grieving over their friend, let’s just leave it at that.”

_“Supernatural researchers hypothesize that the reason for the sudden sweep of ghosts in the area is due to the invention that Danny had interacted with. The purpose of the invention is not public, but the Fentons do specialize in ectoplasm based machinery to study more about ghosts. It’s not unlikely that whatever Danny activated could begin to attract lingering souls.”_

Karmen drops her pencil onto the desk with a definitive thud, “They’re ghost scientists?!”

“I never did tell you what scientific field they actually did, huh?”

“NO YOU DID NOT.”

_“The citizen theorists of Amity also contribute that if the ghost was Danny’s then that could even give possible motive for hiding it. Jasmine taking measures to protect her parents is unlikely for her character, but Danny himself is much more forgiving. After all, he had died in the first place in an attempt to help his parents, so it’s not a stretch that his spirit would want to continue this._

_“Many feel that the ectoplasm charged into Danny’s body when he was electrocuted could guarantee his reincarnation as a ghost. Another route you can take with this theory can also be that the large burst of electricity, ectoplasm, and a human death can theoretically open a natural portal for ghosts. Either way, whether it's a summoned poltergeist or Danny’s own, the ghost can then take to hiding the body._

_“Perhaps the people most set on the ghost theory would be Jack and Maddie themselves. Their background in ectological sciences makes their input very credible, and while they deconfirm the motive theory for Danny’s ghost on the basis that ghosts would not have memories of when they were alive, they still support this hypothesis with certainty.”_

“Okay, sure, but it’s also their job and in their best interest to have people believe in ghosts.”

“I suppose that can be a potential bias, but I’m willing to believe them because they’re not like…. they’re not jumping on every opportunity to say it's ghosts. There's consistency to their science."

"Now I understand why Jasmine thought their science was stupid!” Karmen yells, “I thought that was just like a 'its really dangerous' type of thing but no, it's actually dumb!"

"It's not dumb! It's a legitimate practice!"

"Whatever just finish your ghost theory, I can see you still have more in your stupid little case file"

Flynn pulls the papers away, holding them close to his chest, "Don't look at my file! There's spoilers there!"

"It's just more ghost nonsense, get on with it."

_"Nonetheless, many private online Amity discussion boards continue to breed the theory as the happenings throughout the town fuel the legend. The majority of citizens now believe in the existence of ghosts, even maintaining that they have become a sort of magnet to them._

_“For example, the Wisconsin Ghost, an apparition that’s almost considered a cryptid, is commonly sighted in its namesake state but has recently made more frequent appearances in Amity sometime after October 27th. Werewolves and shadowy forms from other parts in the world have also been noted to heavily gravitate towards the city, further cementing the idea that Amity has become a beacon for the supernatural. This is likely why it is considered the most haunted city in America.”_

Karmen exhales a long, long, exasperated breath immediately after the reading ends. Flynn is almost impressed with how much air she expels out of her lungs, briefly wondering when she even took such a big inhale to do this.

“Well,” She finally says, “It’s certainly a great tourism story.”

“I knew you were gonna brush it off with that,” Flynn jerks back, annoyed but still in good nature.

“So, reviewing back a little, the ‘strange chemical’ that was on the body was ectoplasm?”

“An unknown substance described to be ectoplasm by the scientists that discovered it. It's not widely a known chemical, but the Fentons apparently have a market on using it in their inventions.”

“Oooooh that’s cool. I don’t believe in the ghost thing, but that’s cool.”

“Maybe we can find these scientists and have them finally hammer it in your head that ghosts are real.”

“Let’s not because I’m totally gonna ask them if they shoved their son in a wych elm in 2004.”

“Oh my god,” Flynn laughs, “I hate you so much.”

He snickers a bit more until finally clearing his throat, getting ready to read the next part in his notes. He has a feeling he would be cut off pretty quickly for this one though.

––––––––

_“_ **_The fifth theory_ ** _-”_

“THERE’S ANOTHER ONE?!”

Flynn begins to full on cackle.

“WITH THE WAY YOU ORDER THESE THEORIES, THERE’S NO- WHAT COULD- WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GOING TO BE?!”

“T-the…” –a snort– “the fifth theory….”

“Flynn, you cannot tell me it gets crazier than ghosts.”

_“_ **_The fifth theory_ ** _is that Danny’s body was moved by_ **_aliens_ ** _.”_

Not even a millisecond later, Karmen’s hands slam down onto the desk with a resounding smack.

“No!”

“Hold on,” Flynn breaths, struggling between snickers, “H-hold on, just hear it out.”

“I refuse. This isn’t a real theory and from how much you’re laughing I know you put it here just to piss me off.”

“C-can I just-” Flynn laughs, completely out of breath while holding his stomach. He vaguely gestures to his case files as he continues to lose it.

“Fine, tell me about the aliens.”

_“_ **_The fifth theory_ ** _is that Danny’s body was moved by_ **_aliens_ ** _._

_“While he was alive, Danny’s dream was to become an astronaut. His search history from the day he died was looking up information about life in outer space, so some suggest that he was trying to contact aliens. In fiddling with his parents' invention to use as some sort of signal or beacon, he died. Then the aliens show up and moved his body.”_

The silent pause that follows after Flynn finishes his sentence is hilariously palpable. When he turns to his left, he sees his partner giving him a hard scrutinizing glare, waiting for him to finish. He can feel his own mouth stretch into a shit-eating grin when he delivers the final blow.

“That’s it.”

“THAT’S IT?!” Karmen explodes.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Flynn chuckles.

“That’s…” –she sinks her head in her hands– “That’s so dumb I don’t even wanna talk about it, can we just to the afterthoughts now?”

“Sure, haha. So which theory do you think is most likely?”

Karmen slowly lifts her head back up, now resting her cheek on one armed propped up on the desk, “I don’t know, none of them really seem to fit the bill. I’m still partial that the parents did it.”

“I figured you would say that.”

“It’s so confusing though! Because there’s so much evidence for each theory to disprove them. Usually we have too many theories where many of them could possibly be it, but this one is a downright mystery.”

“I can certainly understand why this case is so popular, there’s a lot of weirdness to it.”

Karmen suddenly huffs.

“This is like that meme!”

Flynn stares at her, utterly confused, “Can you…. be more specific?”

“That… that profit meme! You know the one that’s like, step one: blank, step two: blank, step three: a whole bunch of I-don’t-know question marks, step four: profit!”

“Oh! I know that one, okay. Haha, okay I think I get it.”

“Like, step one: play video games! Step two: mess around with your parent’s lab stuff that you shouldn’t be messing around with!”

“Step three: HuuUUuUuUUuuUuh??”

“Step four: end up in a wych elm and be talked about for years to come!”

“Fun trick to confound your friends and family!”

“Try it now!” Karmen ends, pointing directly towards the camera as she says this with a comical smile.

“For legal reasons, don’t actually though,” Flynn quickly adds.

They then laugh at their own joke for several moments, taking the time to unwind until Karmen comes down for her laughter with a more somber air.

“I will say though on a more serious note, stupid alien thing aside, it is very upsetting to hear that a fourteen year old died. And then be told that he wanted to be an astronaut when he grew up.”

“Yeah, it’s…. at its core, no matter how you spin it, at the end of the day a kid tragically died in a lab accident and we may never fully know who was there to move his body.”

“I just hope that- because this is a whole tourism thing in Amity Park, right? I know we make jokes and all, but I would hope they aren’t uh marketing this.”

“Well, not necessarily. This case was the start of it, but to my knowledge the town tries its very best to treat the real element to this with as much respect as possible and focus more on the freaky ghouls and werewolves bit for the tourism. Like even the official discussion boards for theories on what happened are locked to anyone who aren’t Amity residents.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah like, I think you have to actually find the actual admin of the forums and give him your username so he can manually give you access, so it's not even a password type thing you can share around.”

“Interesting, they’re really that tight about it.”

“They are, because they –like– they keep this case close to their hearts I suppose. They wanted all of the main theories to come from a place of understanding, like the ghost theory is largely from those boards while the alien thing is from a random one.”

“I see, that’s completely understandable then. I mean, the whole town searched for this kid when he was missing! It's good that they continue to respect the memory after his death.”

“Yeah, it’s a tragic local story that the people will honor….”

––––––––

_“In the end, Danny’s body was buried in North Mercy Cemetery and the wych elm he was discovered in has been turned into a memorial. The Fentons have yet to reveal any new inventions in the past few years and have gone quiet in their research, it is unknown whether they will return to the scene anytime soon. Other friends and family members such as Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, and Jasmine Fenton have also gone silent on commenting about the case._

_“Tourists will come and go through Amity in hopes to catch a glimpse of the boy’s ghost. But, even in death, the town remains defensive and continues to protect his story, never allowing the truth to get overshadowed by speculation. Unfortunately, until a hard explanation is revealed, people will always be forever guessing._

_“Did Jack and Maddie hide the body themselves to save their reputation? Was it a ghost who whisked Danny away? Or was it a completely unknown person that may have been overlooked?_

  
_“Ultimately, Danny’s cause of death is definitive to be electrocution, but how he was transported into that faithful wych elm on that curious August afternoon, sparking one of the biggest discussions about the supernatural, will remain:_ **_Unsolved_ ** _.”_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
